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(No Modem 7 (Sheets- Sheet 1 J H. COLLINS, J1. & I. N. K-NAPP.

R. S. COLLINS, Administratrix, & W. J. COLLINS, Administrator, of J. H. COLLINS, JR, Deceased. PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

No. 463,139. Patented N0v. 17, 1891.

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PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

No. 463,139. Patented Nev. 17,1891.

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PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GASL Patented Nov. 17,1891.

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' PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

No. 463,139. Patented Nov. 17,1891.

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J. H. COLLINS, Jr. & LN. KNAPP. R. S. COLLINS, Administratrix, 6n W. J. GoLLms,Administrator; of J. -H. COLLINS, JR, Deceased.

PROCESS OF MANUFAUTURING GAS.

No. 463,139. Patented Nov. 17,1891.

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(No Model.) '7 Sheets-Sheet 7.

J. H. COLLINS, & I. N. KN R. S. COLLINS, Administratrix, 8:..W. J. COLLINS; ministrator of J. H. OLLINS, JR., Deceased.

PROCESS 01? MANUFACTURING GAS.'

No. 463,139. Patented Nov. 17,1891.

M693 2 a V L )UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

JOSEPH I-I. COLLINS, JR, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND ISAAC N. K APP, OF GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT; REEECCA S. COLLINS, ADMINIS- TRATRIX, AND WILLIAM J. COLLINS, ADMINISTRATOR, OF JOSEPH H. COL- LINS, JR, DECEASED, AND SAID KNAPP AssIeNoRs To THE UNITED GAS IMPROVEMENT COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS.

QPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 463,139, dated November 1'7, 1891.

Application filed May 5, 1888.

I To all whom, it may concern: Be it known that we, JOSEPH H. COLLINS,

J12, of the city and county of Philadelphia,

State of Pennsylvania, and IsAAO N. KNAPP,

of Greenwich, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improved Process of Manufacturing Gas, of

which the following is a true and exact description, reference being had to the accom- IO panying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to the manufacture of gas, and preferably to the manufacture of the mixed gas made up of ordinary coal-gas, Wa-' fecting a continuous destructive distillationof pulverized fuel, of feeding it into narrow vertical externally-heated retorts, and bring- ,ing highly-heated steam into contact with the hot carbonaceous residue of the distillation,

so as to form amixture of coal and water gas third, in the continuous destructive distillation of pulverized carbonaceous material by feeding it into narrow, vertical, and externally-heated retorts, the formation of watergas by introducing highly-heated steam into contact with the hot carbonaceous residue of the distillation, and the enrichment of the resultant gases by injecting into them hydrocarbon oils and maintaining the mixed gases and vapor at. a high heat, so as to insure the formation of a fixed gas.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of the specification, we have illustrated $erial No. 272.953. (No model.)

an apparatus for manufacturing gas in accordance with our improved process. Said apparatus, being also, we believe, original with us, will form the subject-matter of another application for Letters Patent to be filed simultaneously with the present application.

Referring now to the said drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of the apparatus; Fig. 2, a plan View on the horizontal section indicated by the line 6 6 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a vertical section On the broken line 7 7 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. Fig. 5 is avertical section on line 1 1 of Fi 2. Fig. 6 is a vertical section on linea at of Fi 2. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectionon line 5 5 f Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of the four-way valve marked H in the drawings.

A is a producer-gas generatona indicating the grate on which the fuel rests, .A and A openings or passages above and below the grate for the in troduction of airto the generator.

A and A" are openings or passages above and below the grate for the escape of the gas formed in the generator.

a, and a are valves by which the passages A and A are closed or opened.

O is a gas-conduit which, as shown, leads directly to the gas-passage A? and is provided with a supplemental conduit or flue A leading to the gas-passage A. By this construction of the generator and the gas-conduit 8o flues air is passed through the flue in the generator either upward or down ward at will, and according to the position of the valves a and a the air-opening leading into the generator on the same side of the grate, with the opened gaspassage being of course closed and the air-passage on the other side of the grate opened.

B indicates the main structure of the apparatus containing the retorts, heating-fines, 850. It is preferably built of masonry and inclosed in an iron shell, as indicated in the drawings. The flue O, with its branch A is formed in this structure, said flue C leading from the generator A to a fine-chamber O in the front wall'of structure B. (See Figs. 8 and 7).

O and C are upright fines orvbranches leading out of chamber and having valves O 'and C by which they can each be closed or have their opening regulated.

D, D, D and D indicate upright finechambers leading inside the upright fines C and O and connected with them by means of flue-passages d d, d d, (1 d and (1 01 the fines d leadingfrom the branch 0 to chamber D, the fines d from branch 0 to chamber D, the fines d from branch C tochamber D and the fines d from branch to chamber D and each of said flue-passages having regulating-valves, as indicated at c, c, 0 and 0 The duplication of the said flue-passages is advisable, as it enables a better distribution of gas to be perfected in the flue-chambers D D, &c.

E, E, E E, E, and E each indicate a vertically-arranged row of combustion-fines marked e e, &c., said fines being preferably made. square in section and each vertical row thereof being placed some little distance from the'one'adj oinin g it-say about three inches so as to form narrow vertical spaces, as shown, and which spaces are hereinafter referred to as retorts.

The flue rows E E, &c., are connected with the flue-chambers D D, &c., and with similar flue-chambers D D and D at the back of structure B', so as to form a continuous tortuous passage for the gases, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. We will hereinafter refer to the system of upright flue-chambers indicated by the letters D D, &c., as connectingchambers a name which correctly describes their function.

F is an exhauster; G, a pipe-section connected with the exhauster; G a pipe-section opening to the air, and I and I, pipes leading from pipe-sections G and G.

H is a four-way valve, by moving. which pipe I is connected. with the pipe G, and the exhauster F and pipe I opened to the air through pipe-section G, or the reverse connections made at will.

Pipes-land I" lead,.respectively, into regenerators,(indicatedatJ andJ fi)the-regenerator I being. connected through flue or'con'duit K and. the chamber D, and the regenerator J by flue-or conduit K with connecting-chamber D 7c and 76 indicate valves by which the openingls of fines K and K can be regulated at wil L. isa' narrow vertical retort. formed be- 1 IL. L isa valve to control the admission of Z Z, &c.,.are baffi'e-tiles secured in said The use of this steam. retort, as shown in Fig. 3.

retort in the apparatus is to superheat steam.

M is a narrow vertical retort formed between the walls of flue-rows E and E At the top of this retort M is placed a hopper M, having a feeding device M at its bottom,. by means of which a regulated supply of pulverized carbonaceous material can be continuously fed into the top of the retort, M being a pulley-wheel for actuating the feeders M L is a branch steam-pipe leading from the steam-pipe L into retort M. M is a valve for regulating the passage of steam through pipe L.

N is a chamber placed directly beneath the bottom of the retort M. It is of an area c011- siderably greater than that of said retort, and -lras at its bottom an ash-pan .L

O is a narrow vertical retort formed by the walls of flue-rows E and E The bottom of this retort opens into the chamber N.

P is a narrow vertical retort formed between the fine-rows E and E The top of this retort is connected with the top of retort O by means of a passage 0, into which passage opens an oil-injecting pipe 0 the supply of oil being regulated by thevalve O in said pipe.

0 and 19 indicate passages formed through the structure B from the topof the retorts O and? to the top of the incl'osing structure.

These passages are to enable the retort-cham bers into which they lead to be' cleaned, and when the apparatus is at work'they are closed by some convenient covers-such for instance, as is shown in the drawings.

Q is an enlarged chamber formedon the bottom of the retort P and provided with an ash-pan Q.

R is'a narrow vertical retort formed between fine-rows E and 'E and leading vertically upward through structure 3 into a conduit S, from which siphon-pipes-S lead into a hydraulic main T, T being gas con'd'uit leading from the said hydraulic: main.

The operation of this apparatus is as folgenerator A,.the openings A, A A4, and A either upward or downward, as may be desired. tion and the four-way valveH adjusted so' as to connect the exhauster' with either one of the pi'pesI or I the one of said pipes disconnected with exhauster being opened to the air through pipe-section G. For the purpose of followi'ng'the gases through the machined have in Fig. 2- indicated by'arrows-the course of the gascswhen the exhauster is connected with the pipe I. As can be easily seen, the exhauster will'dra'win twocurrents of airtthe first entering the generator A and passing-into thefiue or conduit as producer-gas, which is led to flue-chamber C, andthe valve: 6 being opened, the fi'ue C from which it is admitted to chamber D through fiue-passagesd. The second current of air is-d-rawnthrough pipe-section G andpasses throughv pipe I, re-

generator J, and pipe or conduit K into the being adjusted so that the combustion will be IIO lows: Fuel is introduced in the-producer-gas The exhauster F is then-set in operabers D, D, D and D if desired.

chamber D, where it meets the producer-gas and supplies oxygen for its combustion. The burning gases are drawn from chamber D through the flues e of the vertical flue-row E, thence through chamber D and flue-row E to chamber D, and so on through the fines and connecting chambers, as indicated by the arrows, until from chamber D t'ne gases pass through conduit K to the regenerator J, which they raise to a high temperature, and after leaving it they pass through pipe I and pipe-section G to the exhauster F, and thence escape. The combustion in the flues E E, &c., is regulated by means of the valves shown and before referred to, producer-gas being introduced in anyor all of the connecting cham- At intervals the cock H is turned, with the result of reversing the course of the burning gas and air through the fines E E, dad, and the additional result of causing the air which supports combustion to pass through the regenerator heated by the products of combustion, while the other regenerator is heated up by the escaping products of combustion. By this system the narrow vertical retorts formed between the two rows E E, &c., can be raised to very high temperature and great uniformity of temperature be preserved throughout the whole series, as the combustion is, through the valve system described, under perfect control, and any retort showing an undue fall of temperature can, without stopping the apparatus, be soon raised to the proper heat. hen the retort-chambers have been heated to a sufficiently-high temperature, pulverized fuel is fed into the top of the retort M, and falling between its hot walls a destructive distillation takes place, so that at the bottom of the retort the pulverized fuel fed into the top thereof issues into the chamber M as coal-gas and intensely hot and very finely-divided coke. The gases will of course pass from the chamber M into the retort O, and thence through the retort-chamber shown, the hydraulic main, 820., to a proper storage-tank, while the hot particles of coke will continue their down ward course toward the ash-pan M. By introducing steam, however, into the chamber M the vapor of water will come in contact with the hot particles of coke as they fall from retort M, and a decomposition of the water will ensue with the formationof watergas, (carbonic oxide and hydrogen,) which will mix with the coal-gas issuing from retort M and pass with it into the retort O. \Ve prefer to introduce the steam into the top of the vertical retort L and pass it through said retort and among the baffle-tiles Z, placed therein, so that it will be superheated to a high degree and pass through elbow L into chamber M in the best possible condition to unite with the hot particles of coke. As the coke issuing from retort M will seldom be free from impurity, the ash will remain after the union of the steam and coke, which ash will fall through chamber M into the ash-pan M and can be removed from time to time.

If it is desired to enrich the gases passing out of chamber 1W1, we do so by injecting 01]. through the pipe 0 Said oil will of course be vaporized by the high heat of the gases and of the retorts into which it is injected, and by passing the mixed gases through the retort-chambers Eand R they are fixed or made permanent before their delivery into the hydraulic main T. .The function of the chamber Q, which connects the retorts P and R, is to furnish an additional settling-chamher for ash in case, as is not unlikely, some is carried over with the gases issuing from chamber M.

7e will here call attention to the division of the various narrow Vertical retorts by the partition-walls B, B B and B, (see Fig. 3,) and to the fact, as illustrated in the drawings, that each of these divisions is made independent ofthe others, so that if it becomes necessary to stop the manufacture of gas in any one of them there need be no interference with the action of the others.

Having now described our invention and the construction and operation of our preferred apparatus for carrying into effect our improved process, what we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The method of manufacturing gas from pulverized carbonaceous materials,which consists in feeding the pulverized fuel in regulated quantity into the top of an externallyheated retort to effect a destructive distillation ithereof and injecting highlyheated steam into the products of the destructive distillation at or near the bottom of the said retort so as to effect a decomposition of the steam and the formation of carbonic oxide and hydrogen gas by the union of its oxygen with the hot particles of carbon.

2. The method of manufacturing gas from pulverized carbonaceous materials,which consists in feeding the pulverized fuel in regulated quantity into the top of an externallyheated retort to effect a destructive distillation thereof, injecting highly-heated steam into the products of the destructive distilla tion at or near the bottom of the said retort so as to effect a decomposition of the steam and the formation of carbonic oxide and hydrogen gas by the union of its oxygen with the hot particles of carbon, and separating the solid and gaseous products of the said treatment by subsidence in one or more enlarged chambers.

JOS. H. COLLINS, JR. l ISAAC N. KNAP-P.

Witnesses:

LISLE STOKES, FRANCIS T. CHAMBERS.

ILO 

